My four prior patents relate to workpiece holding systems which can be used with a wire EDM machine.
In my U.S. Pat. No. 5,031,887 a locking system for a precision vice is disclosed. The locking system includes a stationary jaw fixedly mounted on a laterally-extending base and a movable jaw adjustably mounted on the base for movement toward and away from the stationary jaw. The laterally-extending base includes a bottom recess and a longitudinal slot communicating with the bottom recess. A locking block is located in the recess and is secured to a clamp bolt extending upwardly from the locking block. The clamp bolt extends through the slot and through an inclined passageway in the movable jaw. The locking block includes serrations extending upwardly for engagement with the downwardly facing serrated surface of the base so as to lock the movable jaw in position when the locking block serrations are moved upwardly toward the serrations of the base by the clamp bolt.
In my U.S. Pat. No. 2,780,123 a precision vice having a co-acting locking plate and jaw-advancing screw is disclosed. The vice includes a fixed jaw and a movable jaw with the movable jaw being slidable on rails to a position where it contacts a workpiece which is then clamped against the workpiece and against the rails by rotating a single actuating device. The actuating device locks the movable jaw to the rail and brings the movable jaw into firm contacting relationship with the workpiece. The force applied to the movable jaw to hold it against the workpiece is applied at an angle passing downwardly toward the base of the vice and forwardly toward the fixed jaw of the vice so that there is no tendency for a front edge of the movable jaw to ride upwardly when it is clamped against the workpiece.
In operation, the movable jaw is manually slid toward the workpiece until it contacts the workpiece. A shaft in the movable jaw is then rotated such that a flange within the movable jaw tilts a locking element of the movable jaw in a slot of a base over which the movable jaw is moved. A locking surface of the locking element is thereby bound against spaced upper surfaces of the slot beneath ribs between which the movable jaw is slid. Further rotation of the shaft causes the movable jaw to move towards the stationary jaw. Forward movement of the movable jaw brings it into firm contact with the workpiece and holds the workpiece in place.
In my U.S. Pat. No. 5,019,129 another workpiece holding system is disclosed. This system utilizes vices of different sizes having a jaw arrangement which imparts downward force to a workpiece when the workpiece is clamped to hold the workpiece firmly against a precision supporting surface. The jaws are tapered or inclined upwardly and constructed to enable bending of the jaws to a position parallel to the workpiece surfaces with the jaws then remaining parallel regardless of the amount of pressure exerted by the vice on the workpiece. The vices include a dovetail recess in a surface opposite to the clamping jaws. A vertical extending dovetail adapter includes a dovetail of the same size as the dovetail in the vices to support vertically-spaced vices.
In my U.S. Pat. No. 5,199,693 a workpiece holding system with a lock screw is disclosed. The lock screw extends axially through a center of an adjustment screw utilized to adjust an adjustment block for holding a workpiece in an accurately adjusted position. Locking forces of the lock screw are exerted along a center of the adjustment screw to eliminate deflection of the adjustment block and resultant small errors which can occur due to such deflection.